I'd Do Anything For You
by HSMLUVER218
Summary: When Gabriella's Mom's boyfriend moves in with his children some things get a little out of control. Will Troy be there for Gabriella? Troyella DUH! Rated T just to be safe. The 1st couple chapters are short and fluffy but it gets better I promise!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

Chapter One

Gabriella had never been happier. She had Troy her super hot, loving, caring boyfriend and a whole group of friends behind her if anything went wrong. It had been just a year now since that fateful day when Gabriella had met Troy at the ski lodge and now every time she looked at him or sang with him her sprits lifted.

Her mom, Christine Montez was also quite content with her life too. She had a beautiful daughter and a boyfriend also. Mark had been in the picture for about a year and a half. Gabriella didn't hate him but she didn't like him that much. No one could ever replace her father who had died of cancer when she was just 8 years old. Gabriella had no idea that she might now have someone else besides her mother whom she had to obey.

Today was New Years Eve, the day she had met Troy. Gabriella wanted so badly to be with Troy or to talk with him. However he was visiting his relatives in Connecticut and Gabriella wouldn't get to see him until school started again.

"Gabi, could you come down here for a second." Her mother called.

"Yeah, sure I'm coming mamí." Gabriella yelled back.

As she walked down the stair she saw her mother holding hands with Mark and 4 children standing next to them.

"Hello" Gabriella said as she walked over to her mother with a how the heck are these children look on her face.

"Gabi these are Mark's children. This is Avery she is 10, this is James he is 8 and these are the twins Allie and Maddie, they are 6." Mrs. Montez said calmly.

"It is very nice to meet you guys. I'm Gabriella and I'm 17" she said.

"Gabi I have something important to tell you." Mrs. Montez said.

"_Oh god, don't tell me their engaged. I mean that's great and all but I want Mark to be my step-father"Gabriella thought._

"Mark and his children will be moving in here" Mrs. Montez continued.

"_Ok.. that'sb etter than engaged. I.. think. But why didn't she tell me. I think a fair warning would have been nice." _

"Wow.. that's great" Gabriella said trying to sound as happy as possible.

"Why don't you show them around Gabriella?" Mrs. Montez asked.

"Yeah…sure" Gabriella said. Although that wasn't what she was feeling really all she wanted was to be alone. The more she thought about it the less she liked the idea. She knew already that she would have to be the babysitter. Her mom worked and Mark worked too. So that left Gabriella to be the babysitter. She wanted to call Taylor or Troy and tell them but they were both away.

"_Oh well" she thought "I better start the tour."_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own High school musical or any or the characters.**

**A/N: Please review this is my first fan fiction story I hope you like it / are liking it**

Chapter Two

Monday morning's were always a drag, especially after Christmas break, but the one thing or shall we say person that always made Troy Bolton's day shine was Gabriella Montez.

"Hey basketball boy! How was your break?" Chad called as Troy walked off the bus.

"Oh you know the same old, Oh Troy you have grown so much since the last time I saw you, that you get from every relative you meet." Troy answered.

"Ouch, well did you at least have time for basketball" Chad asked hopefully.

"Dude, come on, of course I had time for basketball!!"

"I was just checking"

"Have you seen Gabi this morning? I really cannot wait any longer to see her." Troy asked.

"Uhhhhh…..Ummmm… No I haven't in fact I think I better go find Taylor" Chad said.

"Okay have fun with that" Troy called after him "I guess I'll have to find her myself." He said to himself

"No need to find me because I already found you!" said that sweet voice Troy loved hearing as she ran behind Troy.

"Gabriella!" Troy said as he spun around. Before Gabriella could say anything Troy pulled Gabriella in and began kissing her. Gabriella deepened the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck. Finally they broke apart and Troy said, "I missed you so much."

"I missed you more" Gabriella replied giving him a quick peck on the lips.

"Come on let's go to homeroom" Troy said as he took Gabriella hand in his.

Later that day Troy was sitting in English class which happened to be one of his favorite classes because it was a class he had with Gabriella. Troy couldn't help staring at Gabriella as he thought she was the most beautiful girl in the entire world. Then suddenly he remembered something her really didn't want to remember.

_Great I have a huge math test tomorrow. I know Mrs. Earl told us about it before break but who studies during Christmas. Shit I have no idea what we are doing in that class. What the hell am I going to do??? I need a goodish grade to bring my grade up or my parents will kill me. _

Just then "Hey Troy come on let's go it's free period" Gabriella said.

"Right" Troy said

"Hey. Are you ok. You seem.. worried" Gabriella said sounding worried herself.

"Yeah me I'm fine. Umm.. I just need a little help."

"With what?" Gabriella questioned.

"Math." Troy said looking at the floor. "I was wondering since my beautiful girlfriend is so smart maybe she could help me?"

"I think I might be able to help you" Gabriella said.

"Thank you" Troy said kissing Gabriella.

"How about you come over to my house at like 4:30" she asked.

"Sounds great" Tory answered.

Satisfied Troy and Gabriella walked together hand in hand down the hall.

**A/N: I hope you are enjoying it. I know it's short but the next chapter is longer. Please Review. Thanks **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own high school musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews. Enjoy…**

Chapter Three

"Ok guys hit the showers!" Coach Bolton yelled to his team.

"Hey Dad" Troy asked "I'm going over to Gabriella's house this afternoon. She's helping me study. Is that OK?

"Yeah, as long as you study." Mr. Bolton answered.

"Dad. Of course we'll study" Troy said as he ran to the locker room.

After getting showered and dressed Troy got into his car and drove to Gabriella's house. Troy parked his car in the driveway and walked up to the front door where he rung the doorbell. A few seconds later a little blonde girl who looked about 10 opened the door. The girl took one look at Troy and before Troy could say anything she screamed and slammed the door.

"_Am I really that ugly?" Troy thought to himself._

Meanwhile when Gabriella heard Avery scream she came running towards her and said, "What's wrong."

"There is a strange guy at the door" Avery said.

"Troy" Gabriella said under her breath. She quickly scurried over to the door and opened it to see Troy standing there dumb struck.

"Oh my gosh! Troy. I am so sorry" Gabriella stammered "She didn't know who you were and I'm really sorry. Come in. Come in."

"Its ok" Troy said with a confused look on his face.

By this time all the kids gad gathered by the front door.

"Um everyone this is my boyfriend Troy. Troy these are Mark's kids. This is Avery she is 10, this is James he is 8, and these are the twins, Allie and Maddie they are 6." Gabriella explained.

"Hi" Troy said.

"You guys go play I'll be there in a minute." Gabriella said. "Troy I'm sorry I didn't know I had to baby-sit tonight. I'll help you after they go to bed. Is that ok? If you want to leave I totally understand." Gabriella said beginning to babble.

"No, no no no. It's fine. I'll stay and help you. But um how long have you had these kids with you?" Troy asked.

"Oh um since New Years. Mark and his kids moved in with us and I've become the main baby sitter." Gabriella said.

"Ok well then I'll go play with the kids and you probably have dinner to make. I am right?" Troy asked.

"Right you are. Thank you so much Troy. I love you." Gabriella said giving Troy a quick peck on the lips.

"Love you too Gabi."

Later that afternoon Gabriella was watching out the window as Troy played basketball with Mark's kids. Gabriella thought about how much she loved him. Troy was always there for her when she needed him. She didn't know what she would do without him. Just then BEEP-BEEP-BEEP the oven timer went often meaning dinner was ready.

"DINNER!" Gabriella called out to them.

They all came charging inside huffing and puffing and sat round the table. Gabriella served the food and everyone began eating. Except Gabriella had to stand because the Montezes only had 5 chairs.

"Gabi why are standing. Here come sit down." Troy began to stand and motioned to his chair.

"No no no you sit you're the guest." Gabriella said.

"No you sit. You made the food."

"No but you played with the kids."

"I'd play basketball any day you sit."

"No I'm fine standing."

"No if I wasn't here you could sit." Troy said sternly.

"Gabriella are you stupid? He is giving you his seat. Take it! And Troy why on earth would you want to give up your seat? What is wrong with you people?" Avery asked sounding very disturbed.

"How about we share a seat" Gabriella suggested.

"Now there is an idea." Troy said as he scooted over.

After dinner the kids played a while and then it was time for bed. However Avery made a case that she was older and therefore she should get to stay up later. So Troy offered to play with her while Gabriella put the others to bed.

"So what do you want to do?" Troy asked.

"Uhhhhhh…Oh my gosh. I have the best idea. We can play beauty shop." Avery said excitedly.

"Umm…I dunno…Maybe we should play something else." Troy said uncertainly.

"Noooo." Avery wailed "I want to play beauty shop. Or else I'll tell my daddy and he will get very mad."

"Ok, Ok I guess we'll play beauty shop then." Troy said.

"Good, I'll be right back I have to get my supplies."

Within minutes Avery returned with a huge box.

_Holy crap what does she have in there! Troy thought._

"Ok now I will be the beautifier and you will be the customer. What do you want me to do?" Avery said.

"Ummm… anything. Just nothing permanent." Troy said getting more and more worried.

Avery began putting make-up all over Troy's face and giggled as she went._ God, if anyone sees me I'm dead. Troy thought. _Avery stared asking Troy questions to keep him occupied.

"So you play basketball." She said.

"Yeah, I'm the captain" Troy said proudly.

"So why would you want to go out with Gabriella?" Avery asked.

"Why wouldn't I" Troy said.

"Cause I thought jock like you went out with pretty cheerleaders. And Gabriella isn't even pretty."

Troy was shocked that had had come out of the mouth of a 10 year old. "I think she is the most beautiful girl in the world." Troy stated.

"Whatever" Avery said "Hold still"

When Avery was about 3 quarters of the way done Gabriella came into the room.

"Ok Avery it is time for bed" Just as she finished her sentence she saw Troy _Oh my goodness gracious what the hell as she done to him._

"For once Gabriella you actually have good timing. I just finished." Avery said very proud of her work. "Take a look Troy"

Troy held the mirror up to his face and nearly died when he saw himself. He looked worse than a clown.

"Wow" was all he could say.

"Ok Avery let's go" Gabriella said as she motioned to Avery to come upstairs and mouthed sorry to Troy.

Once Avery and Gabriella had gone upstairs Troy rushed to the bathroom and started to try and wash off the make-up. Soon after Gabriella walked in.

"Oh, Troy, I am so sorry. She did the same thing to me last week."

"It's ok. It comes off. Right?"

"Yes, of course it does. Here let me help." Gabriella said.

Gabriella took a tissue, dampened it and began gently rubbing Troy's face. After working for a few minutes Gabriella finished and all the make-up was gone. Gabriella was standing right in front of Troy and couldn't help looking into his gorgeous blue eyes. And Troy couldn't help staring into Gabriella big, beautiful, brown eyes. Troy leaned in and began kissing Gabriella passionately. Gabriella wrapped her arms around Troy's neck and deepened the kiss. Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella's hips and pulled her closer to him. Finally after several minutes Gabriella pulled away and rested her forehead on Troy forehead and whispered,

"We better start studying"

"I think your right" Troy whispered back. Troy gave Gabriella one last peck and off they were to studying.

After an hour and a half of studying….

"Gabi, why can't you be my teacher? It makes so much more sense when you say it." Troy said.

"Troy I would love to be your teacher, but I think you would have a little problem concentrating."

"No I wouldn't have a little problem. I would have a big problem. Troy confessed.

"Crap, what time is it!" Troy said alarmed.

"Um 9:51." Gabriella answered.

"Ugh I have to go. I promised I would be home by 10" Troy said sadly.

They both got up and Gabriella helped Troy pick up all his books. Troy grabbed his coat and gave Gabriella a long kiss. Just as they were walking towards the door, it opened and through walked Mark and Mrs. Montez.

**A/N: I know this chapter was kind of pointless but I need to introduce Marks kids to Troy and show how snobby Avery was. Thanks for reading. Please review. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N: This is a short chapter but it is really important. Thanks for reading. Enjoy…**

Chapter Four

"Oh hi mom, hi Mark" Gabriella said quickly. "This is my boyfriend, Troy."

"It's nice to meet you Mark and it's nice to see you again Mrs. Montez." Troy said.

"And you too Troy" Both Mark and Mrs. Montez said together with suspicious looks on their faces.

"I was just helping Troy Study. I forgot you guys were going out so I told him to come over at 4:3. However when he did I had the kids so Troy being Troy helped me." Gabriella said.

"OK" Mrs. Montez said.

"Ok, well I should get going. It was nice meeting you. Thanks again Gabi. Bye" Troy said as he left.

Minutes after Troy left Mark exploded with anger. "You let that loser look after my kids"

"He is not a loser!" Gabriella shot back.

"Mark calm down. Troy is a very nice boy." Mrs. Montez said calmly.

"Right" Mark said sracasicly "Next time don't let him near my kids."

A few days later walked slowly into school. However she was in the worst mood you could be in. with each step she took she hurt more and more. She had bruises all over her. As she arrived at her locker she thought back to last night.

_Flashback:_

_Gabriella had been putting Mark's kids to bed, as always and Avery put up a fight. When Gabriella had asked Avery to go to bed Avery screamed. Mark came running in and asked why there had been screaming. Avery said that Gabriella had hit her. Gabriella tired to protest but Mark punched her in the stomach. As she ran out of the room grabbing her stomach in pain Mark came running after her and told her that if she ever told anyone he had hit her he would hurt her more and hurt the person she had told. Mark then proceed to push Gabriella down the stairs, leaving her with all the bruises._

_End Flashback._

Now she was hurting so bad and she wished she could tell someone but she was afraid. She was trying very hard to keep herself covered up so that no one could see the bruises but when someone behind her said "Hey Gabi" She let out a little scream and dropped all the books.

"Gosh, Troy, you scared" Gabriella said as she turned around to see who it was.

"Oh I'm sorry; here let me help you pick up your books." Troy said.

After they had picked up all Gabriella's books Troy said sounding very worried, "Gabi! What happened? Did someone hurt you?" He continued starting to sound very protective.

"No, no, no….I um… just… um fell down the stairs. Yeah me being a clutz. Gabriella lied.

"Are you sure? You know you can tell me anything." Troy said.

"Yeah I know." Gabriella said

"And you are sure you are ok? You are covered in bruises" Troy said worriedly.

"Troy, I am fine. Don't worry about me" Gabriella said faking a smile.

"Ok fine but at least let me carry your book."

"Fine" Gabriella said handing Troy her book.

Together they walked to homeroom.

**A/N: That's chapter 4. The next chapter is kind of short but very eventful. I'll update soon. Please review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews. I means so much to me that you guys take the time to review. Enjoy……**

Chapter Five

Over the next couple months Mark forced Gabriella to watch his kids and make dinner too. However when Mrs. Montez came home Mark took all the credit. Gabriella wished she could tell her mom but she was so scared. Mark had threatened her many times that if she told anyone he would hurt her and whoever she told. Not only did Mark threaten Gabriella but, if she did anything wrong he would hurt her. Gabriella was getting weaker and more tired as the days went on. After putting all the kids to bed, and cleaning she still had homework to do. It was becoming too much for Gabriella.

That night her mom had left to go on a business trip for a week and a half. It was 10:30 and Gabriella was almost half way done with her homework when Mark came into her room,

"Gabriella! There is no more Beef Jerky left and I want some. NOW!" he yelled.

"Um…Can't you eat something else?" Gabriella said softly.

"Is that a joke? I want some now! Go to the store and get me some!"

"Ok, Ok um… can I have your car keys? Mom has ours." Gabriella asked nicely.

Mark slapped her and said, "You really think I would trust _you_ with my car? You're too stupid to drive. You can walk. You need the exercise anyway. You are so fat."

Scared that Mark would hurt her again Gabriella agreed and grabbed her coat and started out. She walked outside and down the street. Halfway to the store it started pouring with rain. Gabriella tried running but she was too weak to run so she trudged to the store.

Finally after 2 hours she arrived home. Gabriella had to go to two different stores because one wasn't open. As she walked up to the front door she realized that she had forgotten her key. So, she knocked on the door. But there was no answer. Gabriella rang the doorbell, no answer. Again she rang the doorbell, still no answer. One more time she rang the doorbell but there was still no answer. Gabriella sat down on the steps, cold, wet and tired and began to cry. Still getting soaked with rain she sat there for another hour. Finally she decided there was no way she was sleeping out here so she rang the doorbell until Mark finally came to the door.

"What took you so long?" Mark yelled.

"I…I…forgot my keys and was stuck out here" she mumbled.

"You moron!" he said as he grabbed the beef jerky from her hands.

"This is the wrong kind. I sent you on a simple errand and you screw it up." Mark yelled.

"I'm sorry that was all they had" Gabriella said getting more and more sacred.

Mark punched her in the stomach and slapped her, "That's what you get for being stupid!" He yelled walking off.

Gabriella fell to the ground grabbing her stomach in pain and started sobbing. She felt so weak, her head hurt and now her stomach. All she wanted to do was climb into bed and sleep, but she couldn't. At a little after 1:30 in the morning she still had homework to do.

"Good morning Albuquerque. It's 5:30 am for all those early birds out there." said the peppy radio announcer. Gabriella picked her throbbing head up and realized she wasn't in her bed but she on top of her science book. She must have fallen asleep reading. Gabriella felt dead. Her head throbbed, her throat hurt and she was so tired. However she knew that if she didn't get herself up and the kids up things would get a lot worse. _This is going to be a long day she thought._

**A/N: And here comes the downfall of Gabriella. Stay tuned for the next chapter. It is longer so it might take a while but I'll try and update as soon as possible. As for now Review please!!!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N: Thanks again for all the reviews I am soo sorry I haven't updated in a while but i have been soo busy it is not even funny. Enjoy…**

Chapter Six

Gabriella walked through the halls of East High feeling like crap. She felt so dizzy and all she wanted to do was sleep. Usually she would go find Troy but today she was in no mood to walk, her legs felt like jelly. So, she walked to her locker and then straight to homeroom. She found her way to her seat and sat down slowly. It didn't ease her headache but at least she wasn't standing.

A few minutes later Troy and his buddies came walking in. However the moment Troy saw Gabriella he sensed something was wrong. Her face was drained of color. She looked tired and really cold from what Troy could see it looked like she had goose bumps all over her. Troy walked over to her and said,

"Hi Gabi, you okay?"

Gabriella looked up at Troy she hadn't even seen him come in, "Me? Oh yeah I'm ok." She lied.

"You sure you look really tired." Troy said.

"Um… I stayed up really late last night. I guess I didn't get enough sleep." Gabriella said weakly.

Before Troy could say anything Ms. Darbus ordered them all to sit and be quiet.

When homeroom was over Gabriella eased herself out her chair. It was so tiring for her to even stand let alone walk. _How am I supposed to spend an entire day like this? No I have to. And Troy is already on my case. If he finds out Mark will hurt me so bad there might not be any more Gabi. Ok I have to look healthy. Gabriella thought._

Troy came walking up to her and said sounding very worried, "Gabi are you ok? You can barely stand, and you still have bruises all over your arm.

"Troy don't worry about me. I'm fine." Gabriella said running out of breath as she spoke.

"And your voice. It sounds like it is tiring to you just to speak."

"No, no, no. Come lets got to our next classes or else we will both be late. Gabriella said trying to sound as healthy as possible however it Troy could still sense the weakness in her voice. He knew something was wrong. Gabriella was just too stubborn to admit it. Giving up for now he said, "Ok let's go Gabi."

Later that day Troy and Chad were walking to English class together. Troy had spent all of math class thinking of one think, and no it was not mathematical equations, it was Gabriella. He just needed to figure out what the hell was wrong and how to make her tell him. He hated seeing her is such a miserable state.

"Dude, had you noticed anything different about Gabi today?" Troy asked.

"Yeah man. She didn't seem her normal happy self." Chad answered.

"That's what I thought too."

"Well did you try asking her if she was okay?" Chad said.

"Come on man how stupid do you think I am. No shit I tried that. She claims that she is fine and the she is just tired. But I can see that she is sick and there is something else bothering her. I just know it," Troy said thoughtfully.

"Yeah she did look sick today and what about that day a few months ago when she had bruises all over her?" Chad added.

"I know. I know. I have to help her. I think I'll try again this period. We have English with her."

"Yup and there she is. God even when she is sick she still manages to beat us here. Is there a teleportation device that I don't know about?"

Chad was right Gabriella was sitting in her seat looking even worse then when Troy had seen her in homeroom. Her face had gone from pale to snow white. She had dark circles under her eyes and she looked like she was shivering even though it was warm outside. Troy walked up to her.

"Hey Gabi are you cold or something because it looks like you are shivering." Troy said softly.

"No. I am ok." Gabriella said weakly putting on a fake smile that Troy could tell was fake.

"Are you sure you are ok Gabi? You were tried in homeroom and now Gabi your face in white. Are you sure that you are ok?"

"Troy please stop worrying I am ok. If I wasn't I wouldn't be in school right?" Gabriella said once again making her feel weak just by talking.

"Mr. Bolton would you please stop talking and take your seat." Mrs. Phillips (the English teacher) said before Troy could say anything else to Gabriella.

"Class, you all know that your literary essays are due today and so are your presentations. So please put your essays in the basket now." Mrs. Phillips ordered.

_Great I have to stand up and walk all the way across the room. I don't know if I can do that. Gabriella thought._

Gabriella slowly eased herself out of the seat and rested for a moment before walking or should I say hobbling over to the basket. Finally she arrived back at her seat and took a deep breath.

"Ms. Montez would you like to go give your presentation now?" Mrs. Phillips asked.

"Um..."

"Great go ahead" Mrs. Phillips said before Gabriella could even finish.

Gabriella really did not want to give this presentation. She would give anything not to give it. Her legs felt like jelly, and as she walked up to the podium she felt really dizzy. Never the less she began speaking,

"The book I read was The Pearl By John Steinbeck." Gabriella looked up and everyone in the room looked fuzzy. She tired to focus on something but she couldn't so she continued,

"In the beginning of the book Kino is a calm and relaxed family man." She continued. When she looked up the room started spinning and her legs felt weak. She tired to stay standing but she couldn't. Her legs could not hold her up for any longer and she collapsed on the the floor.

Troy literally jumped out of his chair and rushed to the front of the room.

"Gabi! Are you ok?

Gabriella was too weak to speak and just nodded.

"Come on Gabriella let's go to the nurse." Troy said helping her up. He let go of her for a second and she started to fall but Troy caught her before she was even a quater of the way to the floor. Troy helped Gabriella all the way down to the nurses office.

At the nurses office he helped her into one of the beds and stayed with her while the nurse took her temperature.

"She has a fever of 102.3 so she has to go home." the nurse said.

"My mom is on a buisness trip and Mark is at work so there is no one to pick me up." Gabriella said weakly.

"Then you'll stay here and wait until Mark can take you home." The nruse said. As soon as the nurse said that Troy saw fear in Gabriella's eyes. He knew Mark had done something to her.

"No. She can't stay here. She'll never get any sleep. She needs to go home."

"I'm sorry Mr. Bolton but unless someone else can take her home she stays here.

"I have an idea. I'll be right back." Troy said running out of the room. Troy ran full speed down the hallways to the locker room and into his dad's office.

"Dad, Dad" Troy panted.

"Troy why on earth are you here!" Mr. Bolton said surprised and a little angry.

"Dad are you busy?" Troy asked.

"No. But I will be in about 15 minutes."

"Damn" Troy said.

"Would you please tell me what is going on" Mr. Bolton practcally yelled.

"Ok so Gabriella has been looking really sick all day and I knew somehting was up and I was right because just now is English class she was giving a speech and collpsed and now she is in the nurses office except there is no one to take her home and that's why I came her because I thought maybe you could take her home but you can't and yeah." Troy said

"Oh I see"

"Ah ha! I got it! I can take her home." Troy said.

"Troy you can't just leave."

"I'll go during free period. we are _free_ to do whatever we want. And I can leave as long as i have a teacher's permisson and you're a teacher."

"Troy I don't know" Mr. Bolton said unsurely.

"Dad please. Come on this one time. For Gabriella. Please." Troy begged.

"Ok fine but only this one time" Mr. Bolton said taking out a pen and paper to write Troy a note allowing him to leave.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you" Troy said running out of his dad's office.Just as he was running down the halls the bell rung meaning it was time for 4th period which happened to be Troy's free period. Troy ran into the nurse's office and said,

"Ok come on you can go now."

"How" Both Gabriella and nurse asked at the same time.

"I'm taking her home." Troy said proudly handing the nurse his note.

"Very well you may take Ms. Montez home."

Troy helped Gabriella out of the bed, out of the school building and into his car. Once they were both inside she said weakly,

"Thank you Troy. I don't know what I would do without you."

"No problem. I'd do anything for you" Troy said kissing her forehead.

Once Troy arrived at Gabriella's house he said,

"Ok we are here" but when he looked over he saw she had fallen asleep.

"She really was tired" He mumbled.

Luckily Troy knew there was a key under the mat so he unlocked the door and carried Gabriella up to her room. He went over to pull the shades down so she could sleep in the dark and then he walked over to her bed and just as he was pulling the covers over her she stirred and opened her eyes a little bit.

"Hey. shhh... go back to sleep. I'll come back after school" Troy whispered. Gabriella nodded to weak to speak and fell back asleep. Troy kissed her forehead and left to go back to school.

**A/N:** **Aww Troy made sure Gabriella was ok. Now she is safe and sound in her bed. Or is she?.. Oh by the way The Pearl is a real book. I had to do a report on it for English so i used it. Review!!!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N: I know I say this every time but thanks again for the reviews. Enjoy…**

Chapter Seven

After school Troy raced to Gabriella's house. He hoped that Marks' kids got home after he got there he didn't want them bugging Gabriella. Troy opened the front door of Gabriella's house and walked in. He listened and there was no sound. _That's good. That means the kids aren't back yet. Troy thought. _Troy walked upstairs into Gabriella's room and found her sleeping peacefully. Troy decided to do his homework in Gabriella's room that way if she woke up he was there.

About half an hour later "Ding Dong" Troy knew this was the kids. He ran down the stairs and opened the door.

"Hey guys remember me? I'm Troy" He said.

"Oh yeah… the basketball dude!" James exclaimed.

"Oh yeah… I remember you. You're Gabriella boyfriend." Avery said.

"That's right" Troy answered thankful that they remembered him.

"Where's Gabriella?" Allie asked.

"She is sick. So I'm going to look after you until your dad gets home." Troy said.

"But daddy says that Gabriella never gets sick. He says that if she looks sick she isn't. She is just trying to get out of doing work." Avery said.

"Well today she is very very sick she can barely stand or speak. Ok" Troy said disgusted with what Avery had just said.

About and hour and a half later Troy was serving dinner when he heard a CRASH from upstairs. Troy bolted up the stairs to find Gabriella lying on the floor. Troy ran over to her and picked her up and laid her on her bed.

"No, no, no. I have to baby-sit." Gabriella said panting.

"No Gabi. You are not leaving this bed. You are in no state to baby-sit. That is why I'm here." Troy said gently.

"Thank you" Gabriella said weakly.

"It's nothing" Troy said stroking Gabriella's soft curls. "Would you like something to eat?"

"No I'm not really hungry"

"Ok well then you stay here and go back to sleep" Troy said softly kissing her forehead.

At 7 O'clock the front door slammed open.

"GABRIELLA WHERE IS MY FOOD!" yelled a voice. Marks' kids came running to give their daddy a hug and Troy came walking behind them.

"Where the hell is Gabriella?" Mark said.

"She is sick" Troy answered.

"Who the hell are you?" Mark yelled.

"I'm Troy Bolton. Her boyfriend."

"Gabriella doesn't get sick" Mark yelled as he began storming up the stairs into Gabriella's room. Troy knew this couldn't be good so he ran up the stairs right behind him. Mark stormed into Gabriella room and threw her on the ground, kicking her as he yelled,

"Get up you lazy, worthless, no good bitch"

"Don't you dare called her that and don't you ever touch her again. She isn't lazy she is just sick because of you!" Troy yelled at Mark his face turning red with anger.

Gabriella was on the floor sobbing and shaking unable to move she had never seen Troy get this angry before.

"She is lazy! She is just faking it to get out of doing work!" Mark yelled.

"I think you're just using her to get out of doing work. And you know what you are going to find out what it is like to take care of _your _kids because I am taking her with me!" Troy yelled.

"You can't take her from me. She is mine!"

"You don't own her. She is not your slave and certainly not your daughter. So Gabriella is coming with me." Troy yelled picking up Gabriella.

"Fine but don't come crying to me when she starts acting like the little bitch she is!" Mark yelled after Troy.

Troy walked down the stairs and out the door. He placed Gabriella is the passengers seat and walked around to the driver's seat and sat down.

"Baby, its ok you're safe now" Troy said softly to a still shaking and sobbing Gabriella. Gabriella nodded.

When they arrived at the Bolton's house Troy got out of the car and ran to the front door and yelled,

"Mom, is the guest bed made"

"Yeah it's made. Why? Mrs. Bolton called running towards the door.

"I have a guest" he said running back to the car and picked Gabriella up and carried her straight to the guest bedroom and laid her in the bed.

"Thank you" Gabriella said so softly and weakly Troy could barely hear her.

"Don't worry about it. I'd do anything for you Gabriella I love you too much. Now you just rest here." Troy said as he kissed her cheek and turned off the light and walked out.

**A/N: Ok so now Gabriella is safe. The next chapter is fluffy and happy. I think we need that after the last couple chapters don't you? Please review. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N: Thank you for all the reviews. Enjoy…**

Chapter Eight

Troy walked into the kitchen and sat on a stool.

"Troy Alexander Bolton why on earth is Gabriella here. Does here mother know about this." Mrs. Bolton questioned.

"Mom I can explain. Mrs. Montez is out of town on a business trip and today Gabriella came into school looking like she was going to faint in fact she did. In English class she collapsed so I got permission to bring her to her house. Then after school I went to make sure she was okay and then her mom's boyfriends' kids came home so I babysat them. Except when Mrs. Montez's boyfriend, Mark got home he threw Gabriella on the floor and called her lazy. He has been hurting her and forcing her to work. A few months ago Gabriella cam into school with bruises all over her. I knew something was wrong. She can't go back there until her mom gets home so can she please stay with us?"

"Oh my goodness of course she can stay with us I'll call a doctor in the morning."

The next morning Troy pleaded to stay home with Gabriella but Mr. and Mrs. Bolton wouldn't have it.

"She'll be fine. The doctor is coming at 11" Mrs. Bolton said.

All day all Troy could think about was Gabriella and if she was okay. He knew she was perfectly safe but he was worried about her health.

After school Troy hoped into his car and raced home. Troy ran through the front door and into the kitchen to find his mother sitting on a stool drinking coffee.

"Mom, so how is Gabriella. What did the doctor say?" Troy asked anxiously.

"Troy calm down. Gabriella is sleeping. The doctor said that she has the flu and suffered form exhaustion. He said that she should just stay in bed until she is better." Mrs. Bolton said calmly.

"Ok well then I am going to go do my homework. Thanks mom"

Troy decided to do his homework in the guestroom so he could watch Gabriella. Troy loved watching her sleep. She looked so peaceful although her face still very pale, but she did look better than before and that was a good sign.

"Ok if you take the radicand and square both sides you get rid of the radical but then what?" Troy thought out loud.

"Solve" Came a soft voice.

"That's right solve for x" Troy said without realizing the voice had been Gabriella.

"So 3x+412 subtract 4 from both sides and then…"

"Divide by 3" said the same weak voice as before. However this time Troy realized who it was and looked over to Gabriella who was smiling weakly. Troy walked over to Gabriella and sat on the bed holding her hand.

"Thank you for helping me" Troy said softly.

"It's nothing" Gabriella replied weakly.

"How are you feeling?" Troy asked.

"Umm…Tired…and my head hurts…but I feel better than yesterday" Gabriella said weakly.

"That's good" Troy said smiling.

Gabriella and Troy talked for hours until Troy's mom called Troy for dinner.

"Do you want me to bring you some?" Troy asked getting off the bed.

"No. I'm not really hungry. I think I'll just sleep some more."

"Ok goodnight Gabi"

"Goodnight Troy"

Over the next couple days Gabriella was getting better. However she still stayed in bed all day and didn't eat much. Until Thursday evening when Mrs. Bolton thought Gabriella was strong enough to go downstairs and eat with the Boltons.

"You're sure you're up to this?" Troy asked Gabriella.

"Troy stop being such a worry wart its dinner. I'll be fine."

"Well I am sorry, but I can't help it. If at any time you want to go back upstairs you tell me ok."

"Ok"

Troy helped Gabriella down the stairs and into the dinning room. During dinner Gabriella didn't eat a huge amount but that was to be expected as she had been sick all week.

"Thank you so much for everything Mr. and Mrs. Bolton. It means so much to me." Gabriella said politely.

"Don't worry about it Gabriella we are happy to have you." Mrs. Bolton said warmly.

Once dinner was over everyone stood up to help clear the table.

"Here let me help. I'll wash dishes." Gabriella said.

"No we couldn't have our guest wash dishes." Mrs. Bolton said.

"But…" Gabriella started.

"But let's go watch a movie. Come on." Troy said.

"Are you sure?" Gabriella said.

"Positive" all three Boltons said together.

Troy and Gabriella snuggled together on the couch to watch "The Holiday". However by the time the movie had finished they were both asleep in each others arms.

Mrs. Bolton walked into the room and saw them both sleeping peacefully together.

"Aww I think I better let you kids sleep." Mrs. Bolton said to herself as she walked out of the room.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed chapter 8. Chapter 9 is fluffy again and then 10 and 11 are short but eventful. I have most of the chapters planned out in my head I just have to type them so for now please review!!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N: The reviews are great. (As always :D) Fluffy, Fluffy Fluffy is all I have to say. Enjoy…**

Chapter Nine

The next morning Gabriella woke up and felt Troy's strong arms wrapped around her. Still not feeling 100 she smiled and fell back asleep.

About an hour later Troy woke up and saw Gabriella sleeping in his arms. He stroked her dark curls and gazed at her beautiful face until she opened her eyes.

"Good morning Gabi" Troy said warmly.

"Morning Troy"

Troy sat up but still held Gabriella close.

"Were you watching me sleep?" Gabriella asked.

"I can't help it you're so beautiful." Troy said

"You're not so bad yourself." Gabriella said smiling.

"Troy! Let's go school starts in half an hour." Mrs. Bolton called.

"Nooo" Troy moaned.

"Come on sleepy head" Mrs. Bolton said coming into the room, "Gabriella, how are you feeling sweetie?"

"Um better" Gabriella said.

"I think you should finish off the week at home. One more relaxing day will do you good."

"I think you are right mom" Troy said.

"Now that's a first. Come on Troy let's go. Get ready." Mrs. Bolton told her son.

After Mr. Bolton and Troy left for school. Mrs. Bolton said to Gabriella,

"I think we should go get your clothes. So that you have something to wear for the rest of the time you're here."

"I think that is a great idea Mrs. Bolton."

"Come on the let's go"

Gabriella and Mrs. Bolton drove to Gabriella house and parked in the driveway. Then both walked up to the front door and walked in.

"Make yourself at home. I'm just go upstairs and grab some things."

About fifteen minutes later Gabriella returned with a bag and was ready to go. Once Mrs. Bolton and Gabriella returned to the Bolton's house Gabriella offered to help do something a hundred times. However Mrs. Bolton refused one hundred times. Mrs. Bolton insisted that Gabriella spend the day relaxing.

That afternoon when Troy came home he walked straight into the guestroom. He walked in with huge smile on his face,

"Hey Ga-Gabriella. You here?" Troy said looking around the empty room confused.

"Mom, where is Gabriella? Why isn't she in her room?" Troy yelled.

"Troy, Gabriella is out back reading. You couldn't expect her to stay in bed all day." Mrs. Bolton said.

"Thanks mom" Troy said as he walked out the back door and saw Gabriella sitting on one of their deck chairs reading a magazine and humming to herself. For the in weeks Troy saw the Gabriella he had fallen in love with. The Gabriella who was always smiling, humming or laughing, the Gabriella who glowed radiantly.

"Hey Gabi. How are you feeling?" Troy asked as he walked out onto the deck.

Gabriella looked up at him and smiled "I am feeling much better thank you."

"That's what I like to hear." Troy said as he leaned over her giving her a long passionate kiss.

**A/N:** **Okay so chapter 10 is fluffy in the beginning but then not so fluffy in the end. Please Review.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N: Thanks again for all the reviews. Enjoy…**

Chapter Ten

Gabriella made a full recovery and started school that Monday. Of course she had Troy by her side the entire day. When her mother came home that Thursday and found out what happened, she immediately told Mark to leave and that she never wanted to see him again. Mrs. Montez had apologized to Gabriella so many times and had thanked The Boltons even more times. Once again Gabriella life was blissful.

O_ne Month Later…_

It was last period and Gabriella was sitting in French class waiting for the last bell to ring. She had just finished taking a test. Gabriella wished she knew more people in the class but most of her friends took Spanish and Gabriella was already fluent in Spanish. Finally the bell rang and Gabriella gladly left French at headed to her locker where she began packing up her stuff.

Just as Gabriella shut her locker a familiar voice said,

"Hey Gabi" Gabriella turned around and saw Troy standing with one arm leaning on the locker next to hers.

"Hey" she said happily.

"How are you?" Troy asked as he put his arm around her.

"I'm good. Except for the French test I just took. It was so hard" Gabriella said sighing.

"Oh yeah I'm sure you failed" Troy said sarcastically.

"We'll see. But how about you, how was your day?"

"Um it was good. Wait how you say Basketball is my favorite sport and I play it every day in Spanish?" Troy asked

"Básquetbol es mi deporte favorito y yo lo juego todos los días" Gabriella said smoothly as they walked into the parking lot.

"Cha Ching!" Troy exclaimed "I got it right! You better watch out I get smarter and smarter every day!"

"Oh yeah, well in P.E. today was pretty good at basketball. Thanks to me my team won. And I got props from your dad. So who has to watch out now?" Gabriella said laughing.

"Oooo I am so scared" Troy said laughing too, but then abruptly Gabriella stopped laughing and was looking straight ahead at a car coming at her full speed. She saw none other than Mark driving the car with an evil grin on his face. Gabriella was so scared she couldn't move. Without even thinking about it Troy stepped in front of Gabriella and tired to push her out of dangers way but he didn't have time to push her and as the car hit them they both went flying and everything went black.

**A/N: Cliffhanger. I had to have at least one cliffhanger. You'll just have to wait and see what happens in the next chapter. Will Gabriella be okay? Will Troy? Stay tuned. Please Review.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N: Sorry I know it has been a while since I updated and I left you with a big cliffhanger but you will never believe how much work there is to make up after missing 2 days of school. Thanks again for all the reviews. Enjoy…**

Chapter Eleven

15 hours later Gabriella woke up in a hospital bed with an IV in her arm and bandages all over her. She looked over and saw her mom sitting in a chair in the corner of the room.

"Mamí?" Gabriella mumbled.

"Oh thank God. Mija you're ok." Mrs. Montez said thankfully.

"W-What happened?" Gabriella said weakly.

"You don't remember? The car?" Mrs. Montez said slowly.

"I remember a car coming at me and then…Troy! Where's Troy? Is he ok?"

"Gabi, I think you should rest just now. I'll go tell a nurse you're awake." Mrs. Montez said getting up.

"No! Where is Troy? I want to know now! Mamí please."

"Mija, maybe I should wait awhile before I tell you what happened. You just woke up you are very tired."

"No. please, tell me now. I have to no. What happened?" Gabriella said stubbornly.

Mrs. Montex realized that her daughter was too stubborn and she better tell her now. "Gabi, Troy is in a coma, he suffered many injuries. That's all I know." Mrs. Montez said sadly.

"He's going to be okay right?" Gabriella said tears starting to run down her face.

"I hope so." Mrs. Montez said as the doctor walked in.

Gabriella quickly wiped her tears away she didn't want the doctor to see her crying.

"I'm Dr. Jacobs and I'll be helping you through your recovery. Hopefully that shouldn't take more than a few days. You only have a few minor injures; a broken arm, a mild concussion and a few scraps and scratches. We'll have you out of here in a few days. Dr. Walsh will get your arm properly bandaged up and I'll see you later." Dr. Jacobs said.

The nurse bandaged Gabriella arm and then left. She heard one of the other nurses talking to Dr. Walsh.

"That girl is lucky. If that Bolton kid hadn't stepped in front of her she might not be here."

Hearing this Gabriella broke down sobbing. _It's all my fault. He stood in front of me to protect me. I am not worth that. _Gabriella cried all morninguntil she fell asleep with tears running down her face.

At 3 o'clock Gabriella woke up. At first she thought it had all been a dream but then she looked down at the cuts and bruises and realized that it was a horrible reality. Soon after her best friend in the entire world came into her hospital room.

"Gabi! Oh my gosh I'm so glad you're okay. Gosh yesterday you scared me. I was so worried but then you're mom came to school to tell me you were okay and I was so happy." Taylor said hugging Gabriella.

"It's good to see you too Tay." Gabriella said smiling.

"Wow, you must have been so scared, a car coming at you. Kelsi saw the whole thing. She said you guys went flying."

"I was so scared I couldn't move. I saw that car coming at me and I froze. If Troy hadn't come in front of me I…I" Gabriella said sobbing.

"Gabi, it's okay." Taylor said soothingly.

"No it's not. Troy. It's all my fault. What if he doesn't make it? Then what?"

"Gabriella." Taylor said sternly "Don't say that. You know that Troy is strong and he will pull through."

"You really think so."

"I know so."

Gabriella had wanted to see Troy since the day Taylor had visited her, but Dr. Jacobs wouldn't let her. So when she was released on Thursday afternoon the first thing she did was go visit Troy. She walked into his room and saw Mrs. Bolton sitting in a chair next to Troy holding his hand. Mrs. Bolton looked up at Gabriella and smiled.

"I'll leave you alone with him" She said as she got up and left.

Gabriella looked at Troy. He had cuts, scratches, bruises, you name it, everywhere. He had a tube going up his nose to keep him breathing. There were bandages everywhere. Gabriella had never seen him like this. Troy had always been strong and protective, but now he looked so weak. Gabriella walked over to him, sat down and intertwined her fingers with his.

"Troy I'm sorry. This is all my fault." Gabriella said pulling his hand up to her cheek. She loved it when Troy touched her cheek; it made her feel so happy.

"I need you Troy. You are my rock. You mean more to me than anyone in this world. You have a way of calming me down that no else in this world does. When I am with you; singing with you, laughing with you, talking with you, crying with you, kissing you, the world stops and I only see you, it's like the rest of world disappears. You always know when something is wrong and how to make me feel better. I should have told you Mark was hurting me. This is twice you've saved me. I'm sorry. Troy please wake up, please." She rested her head down on Troy chest and stayed there crying for the longest time.

**A/N: What a sad chapter. The next chapter is about Gabriella going back to school the next day. Please Review.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. Enjoy…**

Chapter Twelve

The next morning Gabriella would have given anything not to go to school, but her mom said that it would help take her mind off what had happened. However Gabriella knew that what had happened would be the only thing she would hear about all day. Never the less Gabriella reluctantly took a shower, pulled on a pair of jeans and her favorite sweatshirt in the entire world. Troy had given the red sweatshirt with Bolton in white letters across the back and the wildcats' mascot on the back too. Gabriella would make Troy wear it whenever it started to smell like Gabriella instead of Troy. Not only did the sweatshirt smell like Troy it gave her the feeling that he was with her holding her hand.

When Gabriella first walked through the doors of East High all eyes were on her. It was worse than the day the school had found out she and Troy had gotten a callback. She tried not to think about the fact that all eyes were on her but it was hard when people whispered as you walked by. Gabriella wrapped her arms around herself and walked to her locker. At her locker she could hear two girls chatting,

"I heard she pushed him in front of her." One girl said.

"Yeah I heard too and that they were on the rocks and he was about to break up with her so she pushed him as revenge." The other said as the two walked away.

Gabriella fought back tears the entire day. With each story she heard the rumors got worse and worse. Finally by mid-day the rumors were so bad Mr. Matsui called for an assembly.

"It has come to my attention that many of you are concerned about the accident that occurred on Monday afternoon," Mr. Matsui began. "I have heard many false rumors and at the request of Coach Bolton I am going to set them straight. There was only one witness to the event and said witness happens to be close to the victims so many of you may find this source unreliable. However, as you may or may not know we have surveillance cameras in the parking lot. These cameras captured the event and I think it would be worth while to show you the event." Mr. Matsui finished.

As Mr. Matsui put the video in the player Gabriella wrapped her arms around herself even tighter. She took a deep breath and inhaled Troy's scent which instantaneously made her feel better. She knew that had Troy been sitting next to her he would have taken her hand for support but instead she had some guy in her chemistry class.

The video came on and Gabriella saw her and Troy walking in the parking lot holding hands. She remembered that day and even though there was no sound on the video she could hear what they were saying. Gabriella saw Troy pump back his arms from when he had said,_"Cha Ching. I got it right, you better watch out."_ Then she saw herself make a comeback and start laughing. She saw Troy start laughing too and then she saw the car driving full at her. She saw herself stop laughing and Troy turn around to see why. The Troy had gone running towards her trying to protect her from the car. He had gotten directly in front of her and then the car had rammed into them both and they had gone flying. Finally she saw Mark drive away quickly like nothing had happened. Gabriella felt tears coming down her cheeks as Mr. Matsui turned off the tape.

"Now you have all seen what has happened. I don't want to hear anymore rumors about this terrible event. It is clear that there is only one person at fault – the driver of the car. I am very thankful that Ms. Montez is ok. Mr. Bolton was a very good student and an even better athlete and I am very proud of him. Are there any questions, comments, concerns?" Mr. Matsui asked.

"Who was driving the car and are they in jail?" a girl asked.

"I don't know who was driving the car and I don't think they are in jail. However I am also not sure if I could tell you because of privacy issues."

"What happened to Troy?" a student asked.

Mr. Matsui looked over at Mr. Bolton giving him a should_ I?_ look and Mr. Bolton nodded, "Troy is in critical condition and is currently in a coma." Mr. Matsui answered sadly.

"What's going to happen to the basketball team." A skater asked.

"Coach Bolton" Mr. Matsui said motioning to Mr. Bolton to answer.

"The basketball team will continue as usual." Mr. Bolton answered.

"But what if…" the skater started to ask.

"Please stop. Don't even say that." Gabriella cut in. They were treating it like he was dead. Gabriella knew she had to say something.

"Ms. Montez, do you have something to say?" Mr. Matsui asked surprised.

_Maybe I shouldn't say anything, maybe I should just keep to myself. No, I can't listen to them talking like he is dead, Troy's not dead. I have to say something. She thought_.

"Yes I would. After I woke up on Tuesday I cried for like all of Tuesday, Wednesday and part of Thursday, I thought I was going to run out of tears. Then on Thursday I realized that Troy isn't dead and I am so thankful for that. Troy is such an optimist; he always sees the bright side of things. And anyone who know him well, knows that he is always there when you need him. Well, now he needs us. He needs us to be strong for him so that he can be strong too. I know that he will make it, we just have to be strong for him." Gabriella said as tears came rolling down her face and she sat down. For a few seconds the auditorium was completely silent until Chad stood up and said,

"Thank you Gabriella. As always, you are right. She just did what she just did because like me she couldn't listen to you guys talk about Troy like he is dead. I completely agreed and I know that Troy will be so proud of Gabriella for what she did when he wakes up." Chad said beginning to clap. Gabriella mouthed thank you to Chad as the entire auditorium filled with applause.

**A/N:** **Ok so all that chapter was really for was to show that Gabriella had become more optimistic about Troy being in a coma. Please Review.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N: For those of you who like fluff, you'll like this chapter. It is mostly about Gabriella reminiscing about some of the times she shared with Troy. Thank you so much for all the reviews I love reading them. Enjoy…**

Chapter Thirteen

Every day after school Gabriella would go to the hospital to visit Troy. She would tell him what happened that day at school while she did her homework. Sometimes she would just sit there holding his hand, thinking about the love she had for him.

It had been a month and 2 weeks since the accident and Troy was still in a coma. No one told Gabriella how Troy was doing because they knew she would worry even more than she already did. Although out of all them Gabriella had the strongest belief that he would wake up she knew that Troy wasn't doing so well.

One day after school Gabriella was sitting with Troy and she could hear Mr. and Mrs. Bolton talking to the doctor. She couldn't make-out what they were saying but she knew it was bad when she heard Mrs. Bolton burst out into tears. All she heard was the doctor say,

"I am very sorry" and then Mr. Bolton trying to sooth his wife. Gabriella sat there until Mr. and Mrs. Bolton came into the room looking very sad. Gabriella stood up slowly, mentally preparing herself for the news.

"Gabriella we have some bad news." Mr. Bolton said.

Gabriella just nodded.

"Troy isn't making any progress and if he doesn't wake up but Saturday morning the doctors are going to take him off of life support."

"No they can't do that. He is going to make it. I know he is. That only gives him three days." Gabriella said tears running down her face.

"I know honey but I think it is for the best." Mrs. Bolton said.

"No please he just needs more time. He can pull through. I know he can." Gabriella cried tears streaming down her face.

"Come on Gabriella I think you should go home now. I'll drive you." Mr. Bolton offered. Gabriella didn't know what else to say so she just followed him out the hospital.

When they arrived at Gabriella's house, Gabriella went straight up to her room, while Mr. Bolton explained the situation to Mrs. Montez.

In her room Gabriella sat on her bed looking at a scrapbook she had started when she first moved to Albuquerque. She made one in every town she lived in, but this one was already her favorite. There were tons of pictures of Taylor, Chad, Kelsi, Zeke and Jason, but there were even more pictures of Troy. There were ones of them laughing, singing, smiling and even one of them kissing. She laughed when she thought about the times these pictures were taken. Then she thought about a time Troy had surprised her.

_Flashback_

"_Where are we going?" Gabriella asked._

"_It's a surprise." Troy said leading Gabriella somewhere with his hands over her eyes._

"_Are we almost there?" Gabriella said excitedly._

"_Almost."_

"_Can you give me a hint?" _

"_No that would ruin the surprise and besides we're here." Troy said taking his hand off of Gabriella's eyes. Gabriella opened her eyes and saw that Troy had laid out a picnic for them._

"_Troy! This is amazing. You shouldn't have." Gabriella said turning around._

"_Ah, but I did." Troy said pulling Gabriella close to him._

"_You did." Gabriella said wrapping her arms around Troy's neck and gazing into his eyes. Troy leaned in a started kissing her slowly but passionately. Gabriella deepened the kiss by running her hands from Troy's neck down his muscular chest. Troy pulled Gabriella down on top of him and ran his hands all over Gabriella's petite body. Gabriella loved the feeling of Troy's hands running over body. Each kiss had more passion than the last and Troy and Gabriella continued their heated make-out session until finally they decided to eat._

_End Flashback_

Gabriella loved it when Troy surprised her. He had climbed up her balcony so many times she had lost count. A tear ran down Gabriella's cheek as she realized how much she missed Troy's kisses and his touch. When he touched her it made her feel better instantaneously. He had this insane way of calming her down that no one else had.

_Flashback_

_Kelsi came running into Troy's dressing room,_

"_Troy, Troy have you seen Gabriella?" she panted._

"_No, I haven't. Why? Is she alright?" Troy said worriedly._

"_I don't know. I don't even know where she is. No one has seen her and the show starts in 15 minutes."_

"_I'll go find her." Troy said getting up. He knew exactly where she was. He ran to their secret spot and sure enough there was Gabriella sobbing on the bench. Troy walked over to her and sat down beside her._

"_Hey…shhh... It's okay, it's okay, calm down." Troy said rubbing her back._

"_I…I…can't. I'll mess up. You should do it with Sharpay, she's much better than me anyway." Gabriella sobbed._

"_There is no way I am doing it with Sharpay. And don't say that you are an amazing singer and a beautiful girl."_

"_But… I can't, I scared, what if I mess up and they all laugh at me?"_

"_You won't mess up because you know all the words; you could do this in your sleep. And you know what I'm here to do this with you. I wouldn't change that for the world." Troy said wiping her tears away._

"_Really?"_

"_Really. You know what, I have something for you."_

"_You do?" Gabriella questioned._

"_Yeah I was going to wait but I think now is a good time." Troy said pulling out a box. Gabriella opened it and gasped._

"_Troy, it's beautiful." She said looking the diamond encrusted heart on a silver chain._

"_Turn it over." Troy said softly._

_Gabriella turned it over and saw the words __Like Kindergarten__engraved on the back._

"_Now when ever you feel scared or nervous just hold onto the necklace and know that I will always love you, I'll always be there for you and I'd do anything for you."_

"_Oh Troy you always know what to say. I love you." Gabriella said giving him a kiss._

"_I love you too. Now come on we've got a show to do." Troy said grabbing Gabriella's hand._

"_Wait, I want to wear the necklace. Can you put it on please?"_

"_Of course." Troy said putting on the necklace. The two ran to backstage making just in time. Troy squeezed Gabriella's hand just before they went on and then Troy ran round to the other side of the stage to start the duet. Gabriella was still nervous but she heard Troy singing and she felt a sense of security she'd never felt before. She walked on the stage to sing her part and together Troy and Gabriella delivered a perfect show. However the entire time Gabriella never took her eyes off of Troy and Troy never to his eyes off of Gabriella._

_End Flashback_

Gabriella grabbed hold of that very same necklace. She really did love him more than she thought she could ever love anyone. She missed him so much and holding onto the necklace she couldn't almost hear Troy saying, _Now when ever you feel scared or nervous just hold onto the necklace and know that I will always love you, I'll always be there for you and I'd do anything for you._ Gabriella fell asleep with the scrapbook in one arm and her other hand holding onto the necklace.

**A/N: I know I have a problem. I'm sorry to all of you who hate fluff (if there are any) but I love fluffy stories. I couldn't resist. As for Troy will he wake up before Saturday? I don't know – well actually I do, but you don't so review!!! Thanks again love you all.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N: Drama, Drama, Drama Enjoy…**

Chapter Fourteen

_Ugh it's Friday. If Troy doesn't wake up by tomorrow morning then – no he is going to wake up. Maybe if he just shows signs of progress then I can persuade the doctor. Yeah I'm good at that._ Gabriella thought. Until she was interrupted by her chemistry teacher Mr. Hyun,

"Ms. Montez"

"Yes"

"Can you answer the question?"

"Um, can you repeat the question please?"

"Ms. Montez. Pay attention this is the second time today. The question is how many protons are in Gallium?"

"There are 31 protons in Gallium and I am really sorry I just have a lot on my mind"

Mr. Hyun went back to teaching and Gabriella tried to listen to what he was saying but it was really hard all she couldn't think about was Troy. Gabriella was once again zoned out when BEEEEP the bell for 5th period rang. Gabriella walked slowly out of the room to her locker. On her way past the gym to of the football players pushed her into the gym.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Gabriella asked looking around the gym.

"Well if it isn't little miss _he is going to make it_" Jeff Shepard, the captain of the football team said.

"What do you want Jeff?" Gabriella said.

"Nothing much, just you." Jeff said he pulled Gabriella close to him and started kissing her as he ran his cold, rough hands over Gabriella body. Gabriella tried to pull away but Jeff was much stronger than her. Finally he broke away and Gabriella yelled,

"What was that? Get away from me!" she said still trying to fight back.

"Come on Gabi you know you want me." Jeff said rubbing his hands up Gabriella's skirt.

"Stop touching me and don't you dare call me that!"

"Why did Troy call you that? Aww is Gabriella sad because her boyfriend is dead."

"He's not dead!!" Gabriella screamed

"He might as well be. Forget him it's me you want."

"Stop!" Gabriella said sobbing.

"Stop what? Saying Troy is dead or this," Jeff said as he started feeling under Gabriella's shirt.

"Both. Get away from me!" she sobbed

"But then you wouldn't get to make-out with me"

"I wouldn't want to, I hate you, I hate you get away from me!!" Gabriella sobbed.

"No one hates Jeff Shepard!" Jeff yelled as he threw Gabriella on the ground and hit her across the face his ring cutting Gabriella cheek. Gabriella screamed as she fell to the floor.

"Looks like Bolton isn't here to save you." Jeff said raising his fist up.

"What the hell is going on here!" yelled a very angry Mr. Bolton with the entire basketball team behind him. Mr. Bolton took one at Gabriella who was shaking and sobbing on the floor and then looked up at Jeff.

"What did you do to her? You are coming with me Shepard. Guys make sure Gabriella is okay and don't let her leave this gym until I get back." Mr. Bolton said grabbing Jeff.

Chad ran over to Gabriella who was still sobbing and shaking uncontrollably on the floor.

"Gabi! What happened? Did that ass hole hurt you?"

Gabriella nodded unable to speak.

"I am gonna hurt that son of a bi-"

"Chad no. Don't you think we should calm Gabriella down first?" Zeke said trying to reason with Chad.

"You're right come on let's sit her down." Chad picked up Gabriella and carried her over to the bleachers where she sat sobbing and shaking for 10 minutes.

"Gabi shh it's okay calm down." Chad said for the thousandth time.

"This isn't working." Zeke said.

"There's only one person who can calm her down and he is not here right now. We need a compromise. Think" Chad said

"Hmm. I know maybe Troy's jersey will work." Zeke said.

"That's a start I'll go get it. Be right back." Chad said running into the locker room. A few moments later Chad came running out with Troy's jersey in hand. He handed it to Gabriella who took it gratefully. Gabriella closed her eyes and inhaled Troy's scent. She could picture him sitting next to her rubbing her back, making her feel better. After about a minute Gabriella had calmed down a little, still shaking she managed to explain what happened,

"He…he they pushed m…me into the gym a… and then Jeff… Jeff was there and he was touching me and saying…T…Troy was d…dead. Then I got angry and he hit… me and threw me on the floor." Gabriella said tears flowing out of her eyes.

"He hit you!" came Mr. Bolton's voice from the gym doors as he came walking towards them. "Mr. Shepard is in the principal's office. Gabriella honey you're safe now. Ok?" Mr. Bolton said his voice softening.

"I think so" Gabriella said quietly.

"There is only one place you want to be right now. Isn't there?" Mr. Bolton said.

Gabriella nodded, knowing that Mr. Bolton knew where that place was.

**A/N: Any guesses as to where that place might be? Well if not you'll find out soon. Please Review. Thanks again for all the reviews. Love you all!!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I don not own High School Musical or any or its characters.**

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a while but this chapter is really long. Will Troy live or will he die…all will be revealed. Thanks for all the reviews. Most of you – well all of you were right about the place where Gabriella wants to go. Enjoy…**

Chapter Fifteen

"You can stay here and watch practice, and then I'll call you mother to make sure it is ok that I take you out of school." Mr. Bolton said.

"Ok. Thank you Mr. Bolton." Gabriella said.

"No problem. Okay guys, pair up." Mr. Bolton yelled blowing his whistle.

For the next 50 minutes Gabriella sat on the bleachers watching then practice. She remembered when she and Troy had played together in the gym after school. It was hard watching them play because she thought of the day the car had rammed into them. Gabriella had been joking with him about how she was getting better at basketball. It was even harder when she had to play basketball in gym class, but somehow she made it through the practice clutching onto Troy's jersey.

"Okay Gabriella your mom said it was ok that you leave." Mr. Bolton said coming out of his office.

"Thank you so much Mr. Bolton" Gabriella said with gratitude.

"It's my pleasure and besides I think he needs you just now. You know I have watched his game get better and better ever since you guys have been together. He plays better when you come to his games. His face lights up when you walk in the room. Did you know that? He really does love you Gabriella." Mr. Bolton said as they walked into the parking lot.

"And I love him too." Gabriella confessed. For the rest of the trip to the hospital it was silent in the car.

Once they arrived at the hospital Mr. Bolton walked Gabriella up to Troy's room.

"I'll leave you alone with him" Mr. Bolton said.

"Ok, thanks again Mr. Bolton" Gabriella said as she walked into the room. She looked at Troy who was lying in his bed as he had been for the past month and a half. Although many of the cuts were gone he still had a tube going up his nose to keep him breathing and he still looked weak. Gabriella walked over to him and sat in the chair next to his bed; she brought his hand up to her face and rubbed it against where Jeff had hit her. His touch made all the pain go away.

"Troy, I need you to listen to me. You have to wake up. The doctors are going to take you off of life support if you don't wake up by tomorrow morning. Please Troy. I need you. I miss you. I miss the way you talk, I miss the way you walk, I miss the way you laugh, I miss the way you smile, I miss the way you sing, I miss the way you make any bad situation seem good, I miss your touch and I miss your kiss. I love you more than anyone on the earth Troy. Please wake up." Gabriella said. Then softly she began to sing,

_**You're not alone  
Together we stand  
I'll be by your side, you know I'll take your hand  
When it gets cold  
And it feels like the end  
There's no place to go  
You know I won't give in  
No I won't give in**_

She touched his hair and think of all the times they had sang together, him giving her the courage to go on. She knew he needed her now more than ever._****_

Keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through  
Just stay strong  
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you  
There's nothing you could say  
Nothing you could do  
There's no other way when it comes to the truth  
So keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through

So far away  
I wish you were here  
Before it's too late, this could all disappear  
Before the doors close  
And it comes to an end  
With you by my side I will fight and defend  
I'll fight and defend  
Yeah, yeah

Gabriella pulled his hand to her face once again rubbing it gently. Memories of the day Troy had saved her from Mark flashed in her mind._****_

Keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through  
Just stay strong  
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you  
There's nothing you could say  
Nothing you could do  
There's no other way when it comes to the truth  
So keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through

Hear me when I say, when I say I believe  
Nothing's gonna change, nothing's gonna change destiny  
Whatever's meant to be will work out perfectly  
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

She thought of the speech she had made to the entire school._****_

La da da da  
La da da da  
La da da da da da da da da

Keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through  
Just stay strong  
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you  
There's nothing you could say  
Nothing you could do  
There's no other way when it comes to the truth  
So keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through  


She gently rubbed his face with her hand. She remembered the way Troy looked at her with his gorgeous blue eyes.

_**  
Keep holding on  
Keep holding on**_

There's nothing you could say  
Nothing you could do  
There's no other way when it comes to the truth  
So keep holding on  
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through

As she sang the last words she felt tears running down her face and she lay her head down onto Troy's chest, crying softly into his chest. Suddenly she felt a hand rubbing her back and a familiar voice say weakly,

"Shhhh… don't cry, you no I don't like it when you cry."

Gabriella looked up and saw Troy smiling at her weakly.

"Troy! Oh my gosh! You're okay. Oh thank God you're okay. I missed you." Gabriella said tears streaming down her face from happiness.

"I missed you too." Troy said weakly stroking her hair.

"Not as much as I missed you! Oh Troy I love you so much." Gabriella cried happily hugging him tightly.

"Yes and I love you too but…oww that hurts." Troy said wincing slightly.

"Oh I'm so sorry. I'll go get a nurse." Gabriella said running out of the room.

Mr. and Mrs. Bolton saw Gabriella running out of Troy's room towards them with tears streaming down her face.

"Gabriella what's wrong honey is everything ok?" Mrs. Bolton asked softly thinking something was wrong.

"Everything is great! Troy's awake! He just woke up!" Gabriella said happily.

"That's impossible." Troy's doctor said coming near the Boltons and Gabriella

"No he just woke up. I was just talking to him!" Gabriella said "Come see, come see."

All four of them walked into Troy's room to see him with a weak smile on his face. Mrs. Bolton rushed over to him.

"Oh my baby is ok." She gushed.

"Mom, I love you too but…oww that hurts." Troy winced once again.

"I still can't believe he made it. I mean I thought I was going to have to take him off of life support. It is really a miracle." The doctor said.

Troy looked at Gabriella who looked back at Troy; they smiled at each other knowing that it was Gabriella who had woken him up because she had sung to him.

"But I am going to need to run some tests so Mr. and Mrs. Bolton I'll need your signatures."

After 2 hours of tests Troy was back in his room talking to his parents when Gabriella walked in. Mr. and Mrs. Bolton stood up and said,

"We'll leave you too alone."

"Thanks Mom and Dad see you later." Troy said.

"Bye Mr. and Mrs. Bolton." Gabriella said as she walked over to the chair beside Troy's bed.

"Thank you for believing in me." Troy said.

"Oh, you're welcome." Gabriella said unsurely, looking away.

"Gabi, what is it?" Troy asked.

"It's just when I first woke up and found out about you, I cried for 2 and a half days, I had no hope. I couldn't figure out why you would run in front of ME to save me. Then one day I was talking to you and I realized that you always believe in me and are always there for me so I figured I should be there for you." Gabriella said.

"Gabriella, I would jump off a bridge to save you. I could never let anyone or anything hurt you. I love you too much." Troy said softly.

"Really"

"In a heartbeat" Troy said reaching up and stroking Gabriella's cheek. He touched just where Jeff had hit Gabriella. A scar had formed on her cheek. Suddenly Troy looked very worried,

"Gabi, when did you wake up?" Troy asked.

"Um about a month and a half ago, it was 15 hours after the car hit us. Why?" Gabriella answered.

"Then what happened? Did someone hurt you? Was it Mark? Because if that son of a bi-" Troy said angrily

"No it wasn't Mark, he is in jail now." Gabriella cut in.

"Gabi, what happened?" Troy said calmer.

"It was today…" Gabriella began.

"Today?"

"Yes. I was walking past the gym on the way to my locker, when these two football players pushed me into the gym. They locked me in there and then…" Gabriella said tears welling up in her eyes.

"Then…" Troy said motioning for Gabriella to continue as he rubbed her hand.

"Then, Jeff Shepard was there and he started touching me and saying that when you died him and me would get together. Then he kept saying how you were as good as dead. So then I told him I hated him and he got angry and threw me on the ground and hit me. And I'm really sorry please don't be mad." Gabriella said tears running down her face.

"Gabi, how could I be mad at you, it wasn't your fault. I'm just sorry that I couldn't have been there to protect you. I promise you are safe now." Troy said softly.

"It's not your fault that you weren't there to protect me. If you hadn't saved me from the car I might not have even been right now. And thankfully the basketball team and your dad found me before he got even madder. You know the only thing that could calm me down was your jersey. I'm sorry if it is a little wet when you get back."

"That's ok. I don't mind if my jersey is soaking wet, just as long as you're ok." Troy said.

Gabriella leaned in towards him and gave him a long kiss. She felt a chill go down her spine, wow she had missed his kisses. They stayed there kissing for only a few seconds because they were interrupted,

"God, you have been awake for what 2-3 hours and already you're already all over each other." Chad said walking in the room.

"Does he have a gift?" Troy whispered into Gabriella's ear jokingly. Gabriella giggled as she pulled away.

"It's nice to see you to dude." Troy said.

"Yeah well I missed my best buddy, man I mean we fell apart without you. The whole was convinced you were dead, until Gabi made that speech. She was like the only one who believed in you until she made that speech of course." Chad said.

"A speech? On my behalf?" Troy inquired.

"I had to. I mean after they showed the video from the parking lot, showing what had happened everyone was using past tense with you like you were dead. So I stood up in front of the entire school I told them what I thought" Gabriella said.

"Wow. Gabi, that's great. Thank you. But they made you watch the video of what happened?"

"Yeah it was the hardest video to watch." Gabriella confessed.

"Oh, I'm sorry I wish I could have been there to hold your hand and make it easier." Troy said softly.

"I just imagined you were there the entire time." Gabriella said.

Gabriella stayed with Troy all night and all of Saturday and Sunday, except when she went home to take a shower. However on Monday she had to go back to school but it was the best Monday she had had in a month and a half.

**A/N: Wow that took a long time to write. And I am sure everyone is happy now that Troy is ok. I couldn't kill him. What kind of person do you think I am? The song is Keep Holding On by ****Avril ****Lavigne** **. Anyway please review. Thanks again for reading and reviewing.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N: Thanks again for all the reviews. This chapter is short but I needed it to set up for the next chapter. Enjoy…**

Chapter Sixteen

It had been two weeks since Troy had woken up. The doctors couldn't believe that he had even woken up in the first place and then that he had all his memory and no mental problems. Troy had had a concussion and he was very very very weak.

Today was Troy's first day back. Together he and Gabriella walked through the door of East High hand in hand. Troy got a ton of,

"Dude glad you're okay." or "Great to see you back man" or "I missed you man" along with high fives and man hugs.

Later that day Gabriella was at her locker putting her books away when a voice from behind her said,

"Well look who it is"

Gabriella turned around with a smile on her face thinking it was someone she knew. But her smile dropped from her face as soon as she saw who it was. There was none other than Jeff Shepard standing before her.

"I thought you were…" Gabriella stammered.

"You thought I was expelled?" Jeff cut in.

"Yeah"

"Well I wasn't my father argued a two week suspension." Jeff said proudly moving closer to Gabriella who backed up only to be stopped by the locker behind her.

"Get away from me Jeff." Gabriella replied coldly.

"But surely you missed me while I was gone." Jeff said in a mocking baby voice as he moved closer.

"No. I did no miss you. Now get away from me!" She said sternly trying to push him back.

"I heard Bolton's back but I don't see him anywhere. Did he dump you because he finally realized what a slut you are?"

"No he did not dump me! Now get away from me!" Gabriella protested.

"Oh now I remember what happened, I never got to finish what I started because that Danforth kid got in my way." Jeff said his voice and fist rising.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" came and angry voice who grabbed Jeff's fist.

"Bolton! What do you want?" Jeff yelled at Troy.

"Get away from her. Don't you even think about hurting her again! If you ever go near her again I will pummel you into the ground! Understood?" Troy yelled at Jeff in an extremely angered tone.

"Whatever Bolton" Jeff said walking away.

"Gabi are you okay. He didn't hurt you did he?" Troy said softly pulling Gabriella into a hug.

"I am now" Gabriella said as she took a deep breath her head resting on Troy's chest.

"I promise I won't let him go near you again and if he does… He's dead." Troy said.

"Ok. Thank you for saving me" Gabriella said giving Troy a kiss on the cheek.

"I think you missed." Troy said smiling.

"You do, do you" Gabriella replied.

"Yup" Troy answered. Gabriella leaned in and began kissing him "Is that better?" she asked.

"Much" Troy answered leaning in to kiss Gabriella passionately not stopping until,

"PDA alert, PDA alert" Chad mocked.

"Like I said before he has a gift." Troy whispered in Gabriella's ear. Gabriella giggled as she broke away and the three of them began walking down the hall.

"So Troy you pumped for the awards dance this Friday?" Chad asked.

"Awards…Awards…?" Troy questioned out loud "Oh! The sports awards. Yeah I'm pretty excited."

"Yeah the one someone is up for an award in." Chad said nudging Troy.

"You're up for an award Troy?" Gabriella asked happily.

"Yup"

"Which one!" Gabriella inquired.

"Athlete of the year." Troy said proudly.

"Oh my gosh! Congratulations! I know you're gonna win" Gabriella said squealing.

"Excuse me. But I am up for an award too." Chad said.

'You are?" Gabriella and Troy asked at the same time.

"Yup, most spirited."

"I could see that congratulations." Gabriella said.

"Yeah man congrats." Troy said.

"The only problem is I have practice right before the dance so I can't pick up Taylor. I guess she'll have to meet me there." Chad explained sadly.

"Oh Gabi, I am gonna have to do the same thing. I am so sorry Gabi." Troy said.

"It's ok. Taylor and I can meet you guys at the school. We can get ready at my house together."

"So you're not mad." Troy asked.

"How could I be mad?" Gabriella said sweetly.

"BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP" The bell rang.

"Ugh I gotta run guys see you later." Gabriella said scurrying off blowing Troy kisses.

**A/N: Ok so a little boring I know but I needed it to set up for the next chapter, which is long and fluffy. Thank you again for reading. Please review.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or any of its characters.**

**A/N: Thank you to all who have reviewed. Enjoy…**

Chapter Seventeen 

It was Friday night and Taylor and Gabriella were getting ready to go to the dance in Gabriella's room.

"Do I look ok?" Taylor asked examining herself in the mirror.

"You look amazing Taylor, stop worrying." Gabriella complimented.

"Thanks Gabi. You look stunning, Troy just might faint." Taylor replied giggling a little.

"Thanks Tay, but there is just one thing missing." Gabriella stated as she opened her jewelry box pulling out the necklace Troy had given her and put it on. _Perfect she thought._

"Girls! Are you almost ready? We're already late. Come on lets go!" Mrs. Montez called from downstairs.

"Coming!" Taylor and Gabriella yelled in unison.

_**Meanwhile at East High…**_

"Dude where are they?" Chad asked impatiently.

"I don't know man, Gabi is usually on time." Troy said.

"Yeah Taylor is too."

"Yeah but you know when those two start talking about clothes it could last forever." Troy said laughing.

"You're right. Hey maybe they're inside."

"Yeah I never thought of that. Let's go." Troy said turning around to go into the building. Troy and Chad walked into the gym and looked around for the girls. There was no sign of them.

"Let's just go wait over by the punch" Chad suggested. They walked over to the punch and stood there waiting until there was a tap on Troy's shoulder. Troy turned around and saw Gabriella standing before him. She was wearing a knee length sparkly red dress and Troy thought she couldn't possibly look anymore amazing.

"Gabi! You look…wow… You look absolutely stunning." Troy said giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you. You don't look so bad yourself." Gabriella said smiling.

"Come on lets dance." Chad said pulling Taylor on the dance floor. Troy pulled Gabriella too and they all danced together. However the entire time Jeff and his friends were saying,

"Yeah Gabi, Taylor work it"

"That's it. I've had enough." Troy said angrily. "They're dead meat."

"Troy no, calm down it's ok." Gabriella said trying to calm Troy down.

"No it is not ok. I am going to pummel them to the ground."

"Troy, not tonight, it's your night. Don't let them ruin it. They haven't hurt me. You'll just get in trouble if you start a fight." Gabriella said calmly.

"She's right son. I'll take care of them." Mr. Bolton cut in "I've been watching them the entire time. I'm going to tell Mr. Matsui and I can assure you he will not be happy. You enjoy tonight"

"Thanks dad." Troy said calming down as a slow song started playing

_**The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful**_

"Oh I love this song." Gabriella said.

"Dance with me?" Troy asked holding out his hand.

"In a heart beat." Gabriella answered taking his hand. Troy spun her in so that her back was against his chest. They swayed together as the music played.

_**  
Stop me and steal my breath.  
And emeralds from mountains thrust toward the sky  
Never revealing their depth.  
Tell me that we belong together,  
Dress it up with the trappings of love.  
I'll be captivated,  
I'll hang from your lips,  
Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above.**_

Troy spun Gabriella around as the melody ran through them._****_

I'll be your crying shoulder,  
I'll be love's suicide  
I'll be better when I'm older,  
I'll be the greatest fan of your life.

Troy spun her back in and pulled her close._****_

And rain falls angry on the tin roof  
As we lie awake in my bed.  
You're my survival, you're my living proof.  
My love is alive -- not dead.  
Tell me that we belong together.  
Dress it up with the trappings of love.  
I'll be captivated,  
I'll hang from your lips,  
Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above

Gabriella rested her head on his chest as they swayed closely._****_

I'll be your crying shoulder,  
I'll be love's suicide  
I'll be better when I'm older,  
I'll be the greatest fan of your life.

And I've dropped out, I've burned up, I've fought my way back from the dead.  
I've tuned in, turned on, remembered the things that you said

I'll be your crying shoulder,  
I'll be love's suicide  
I'll be better when I'm older,  
I'll be the greatest fan of your...  
I'll be your crying shoulder,  
I'll be love's suicide  
I'll be better when I'm older,  
I'll be the greatest fan of your life.

Troy whispered the last lines of the song into Gabriella ears, _****_

The greatest fan of your life.  
...greatest fan of your life.

The song ended and Troy leaned in and gave Gabriella a long deep kiss.

"Would everyone please report to the auditorium for the award ceremony." Mr. Matsui said over the intercom.

Troy and Gabriella walked hand in hand to the auditorium and sat down with the rest of the basketball team.

"Our first award tonight is for the most spirited. The nominees are: Alice Johnson, Logan Phillips, Chad Danforth and Julia Tantin. And the winner is……………Chad Danforth!!" Mr. Matsui said as the audience applauded loudly and whistled. Chad made his way up to the stage and began to speak,

"Thank you some much for this. I have one thing that I have to say, What team?" Chad yelled.

"Wildcats!" the audience shouted back.

"What team?"

"Wildcats"

"What team?"

"Wildcats?"

"Getcha' head in the game!" the students screamed.

After all the other awards had been given out there was only one left.

"And our final award tonight is athlete of the year. The nominees are: Hannah Anderson, George Davis, Patrick Jacobs, Catherine Hamilton, Lindsey Smith and Troy Bolton. And the winner is…"

"You're my winner no matter what." Gabriella whispered in Troy's ear.

"That's all I need." Troy whispered back.

"Troy Bolton!" Mr. Matsui exclaimed. The entire auditorium stood on their feet screaming, clapping and whistling. Gabriella threw her arms around Troy and kissed him. She pulled away and pushed him to go up onto the stage.

"Thank you so much. You have one idea how much this means to me. I have dreamed of the day for my entire life. There are so many people I want to thank; my parents, of course for being there and always supporting me, the entire basketball team because they are like my brothers and finally Gabriella Montez, she has taught me so much, and not just algebra, but about life, living and love. Most of you may think I saved her life but she's the one who really saved mine." Troy said not taking his eyes off of Gabriella who was smiling as he walked back to his seat.

"Congratulations to all of our winners and nominees, I am very proud of you all. Now I believe Taylor McKessie would like to say something." Mr. Matsui said handing the microphone over to Taylor.

"Thank you Mr. Matsui. As class president I thought it was important that the student body choose someone to perform tonight. So I took a poll to help us decide." Taylor began.

"When did she take a poll? Did I miss it?" Troy whispered to Gabriella.

"I don't remember her taking a poll. I think we're both missing something here." Gabriella whispered back with a confused look on her face.

"Now the people performing tonight have no idea that they performing tonight, but I think and hope they'll want to. So would Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez please sing for us tonight?" Taylor asked looking right at Troy and Gabriella.

Troy looked at Gabriella, who was looking at Troy.

"Do you want to?" Troy asked.

"I would want to do anything else." Gabriella smiled.

"Good. Then let's go." Troy said grabbing Gabriella's hand.

"So what are were going to sing?" Gabriella asked Troy as they walked up to the stage,

"Uh… How about the song we were singing with Kelsi."

"Yeah I love that song." Gabriella smiled.

The first few bars of music played and Gabriella sang:

_**Oh, oh, oh, oh **__**–**_

Then Troy:

_**  
It must have been cold there in my shadow,  
To never have sunlight on your face.  
You were content to let me shine, thats your way.  
You always walked a step behind.**_

Back to Gabriella:_****_

So I was the one with all the glory,  
While you were the one with all the strain.  
A beautiful face without a name for so long.  
A beautiful smile to hide the pain.  


Then together they sang not talking their eyes off of each other,

_**  
Did you ever know that youre my hero,  
And everything I would like to be?  
I can fly higher than an eagle,  
For you are the wind beneath my wings.  
**_

Troy went back to singing:

_**  
It might have appeared to go unnoticed,  
But Ive got it all here in my heart.**_

And Gabriella joined in:

_**  
I want you to know I know the truth, of course I know it.  
I would be nothing without you.**_

Did you ever know that youre my hero?   
Youre everything I wish I could be.  
I could fly higher than an eagle,  
For you are the wind beneath my wings.

Did I ever tell you youre my hero?  
Youre everything, everything I wish I could be.  
Oh, and i, I could fly higher than an eagle,  
For you are the wind beneath my wings,  
cause you are the wind beneath my wings.

Oh, the wind beneath my wings.  
You, you, you, you are the wind beneath my wings.  
Fly, fly, fly away. you let me fly so high.  
Oh, you, you, you, the wind beneath my wings.  
Oh, you, you, you, the wind beneath my wings.  


They stood on the stage together and sang softly the last lines of the sond in perfect harmony to each other like there was no one else in the room:

_**  
Fly, fly, fly high against the sky,  
So high I almost touch the sky.  
Thank you, thank you,  
Thank God for you, the wind beneath my wings.**_

Everyone was once again on their feet cheering, but Gabriella was staring up at Troy and Troy was gazing into Gabriella eyes. Troy kissed her sofly and whispered in her ear,

"Gabriella I love you so much. You make my world stop when you walk into a room and I always feel better when you're around. I love you more than life its self. I'd do anything for you."

**The End**

**A/N: Yeah that was the last chapter. I am so sad to see it go. I had so much fun writing this story. The two songs in the chapter were, I'll Be by Edwin McCain and Wind Beneath My Wings by****Bette Midler**.** I hope you enjoyed the story and I want to thank all my readers and reviewers for sticking with me. I have an idea for a new story and I need to know what you guys think,**

**It is senior year and everyone is going on the senior trip to Hawaii, but Gabriella has memories that haunt her forever. Also what happenes when a tsnumi hits the island while the gang is there? Will everyone be ok? **

**Does it sound like it will make a good story please review and tell me if you think it sounds good. I think I'm going to call it Without You. Thank again.**


End file.
